Overall, a very decent and good episode, I thought. Certainly better than the second episode of most other TV shows. And I feel guilty saying so, but I felt it was better than SG-1 this week.

The storyline was good and had solid flow from beginning to end. It picked up well from last week, with the two groups starting to settle in. I liked the nice touches of reality. They didn't immediately spread out all over the city, choosing instead to be careful and to stick only to the areas that they could currently safely patrol. They also didn't immediately trust all the Ethosians... not that I'm saying there is a definite reason they shouldn't, but it shows that they are sufficiently paranoid. And yet at the same time, both Weir and Sheppard showed diplomacy in dealing with Teyla, and Weir explained to Sheppard that she simply needed more time to get to know them.

10,000 year old dead trees. *laugh* Nice touch. I don't remember noticing them in the pilot episode, but I did notice them in this episode before they were mentioned, and wondered... why the heck do they have dead-looking indoor plants? Did they bring them from Earth?? And then Dr. Weir explained what they were. Nice touch, and it shows that for all that they were living on an artificial island, the Ancients did appreciate greenery around them. I wonder, though - did the reference to 10,000 years mean that they've learned that this is how long ago the Ancients abandoned the city, or is it a completely random, round number with no basis in fact?

The Shadow - a nice plotline. It makes sense that they would run into various dangers associated with poking around in the city, and I like both the fact that it wasn't just some random techno toy they touched as well as the nice connection to what we've already known about the Ancients. Interesting that McKay speculates that the Ancients did some "gene therapy" of their own. I wonder if they really did, or if he's wrong about it? Just because they were studying the creature to learn about ascention doesn't mean they applied their learning in the form of gene alteration.

Invincible Man - cute storyline, full of humor. I especially liked the part where Sheppard pushed him off the balcony, only for Weir to find them both grinning like little kids. The look on Sheppard's face when he proudly stated that he'd already shot McKay was priceless.

Instant Ancient Genes - this part of the plot bugged me, though. They solved the challenge of being able to have anyone acitivate Ancient technology, just as simple as that? This seems like a big letdown to me, especially given the big deal they made out of how important Sheppard's ability was in the pilot. Sure, yeah, he still has the advantage of using the technology intuitively, but still... giving the gene to anyone with a simple shot, at the very beginning of the series, seems like a cop-out to me. [/hl]

[hl=black]Poor guy My friend and I had a Stargate night, and we were both freaking out and feeling sorry for Shepherd. It so fun to watch it with a friend. Although McKay always pointing out 'How screwed we are' or 'We are going to die' is like waiting for Kenny to die in a South Park episode. [/hl]

[hl=black]Yeah, it would seem that McKay is the official doomsayer at the outpost. Before you know it, we'll be seeing something like:

McKay: *opens mouth to say something*
Sheppard: *cuts him off, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture* Yeah, we know... we're all about to die a horrible, painful death, there's no escape, blah blah. Can we skip ahead to the part where we solve the problem and miraculously escape?"

I'm somewhat surprised that Ancient technology would have anything simple enough that we could check circuits like they did in this episode. I mean, Tollan tech isn't as advanced as Ancient, yet when the SGC briefly looked at Tollan devices back in season 1, the best they could do was guessthat they were technological devices, they were so advanced and different... But I guess this is a plot convenience thing - the crew has to be able to work on and with the technology for plot reasons.

I'm starting to like Dr. Weir. I wasn't so sure at first about the new actress, and I wasn't sure about that sort of character in charge... but she's turning out pretty well, I think. I was impressed with the way she put that jerk scientist in his place, and even if he didn't believe she was serious about banishing him, she convinced me! She also did a nice job handling the Elosian issue. [/hl]

[hl=black] Well it looks like most of the technology is based off crystals, which the Goa'uld use. And knowing the Goa'uld, they probably got the idea from leftover Ancient toys that they abandoned when they went to the Pegasus galaxy. It's very possible that the Tollan technology is based off of a completly different type of technology making it harder to work with at a beginners level. [/hl]

That's a very good point, and now that you mention it, it is almost certain that the Goa'uld got the crystal technology from the Ancients. DHD systems are crystal based, and the stargates were built by the Ancients. So your explanation is a good one... they have many more years of experience with the crystal technology.

Speaking of the Tollan and their technology, I have a new theory about them based off of the Atlantis pilot. Back in season 1 of SG-1, Daniel tried to explain the technological advancement of the Tollan, compared to Earth, by guessing that maybe the Tollan never had a Dark Age like Earth did. But at that point, the SGC only knew about humans who had been transplanted from Earth by the Goa'uld. Any theories had to fit that constraint. However, now that we know about the Ancients, and how they seemed to like to go around seeding different worlds (and galaxies) with human life... I wonder if perhaps the Tollan were decendants of one of those efforts: life started somewhere else by the Ancients, at some much earlier time. It could explain how the Tollan were so very advanced.

Regarding last night's Atlantis episode... [hl=black] Not bad. It was a bit shorter on humor compared to previous episodes, but then, it was obviously meant to be more serious. It sounds like the plotline was a convenient way to get the Ethosians out from under foot in the city; in other words, making it so they didn't have to show up as guests in every single episode. I can see why they would want to do that, but I'm somewhat disappointed. I thought having them around Atlantis would provide an interesting contrast to regular operations. Oh, well. I'm also a bit surprised that the ONLY theory put forth to explain the Wraith attacks was an Ethosian spy. Did it never once occur to these people that the Wraith could be tracking them some other way??? That smacked of plot convenience, which is disappointing as well. *shrug*

As for the "let's capture a Wraith" plan... what?? I know the point of this is to learn more about them, since they know next to nothing... but... they know next to nothing about them! This seems like a HUGE risk. How do they know that the other Wraith can't track this one right back to Atlantis? Their only safety so far seems to be that the Wraith aparently haven't yet figured out that they're operating out of Atlantis. As soon as that happens... they'd better have a ZPM on hand, or they'll be screwed. And I hate to second guess, but I think Wraith Boy is right. They've likely just gotten themselves into a lot of trouble capturing him and bringing him to Atlantis. [/hl]

Personally, I've seen all but one or two episodes, and I shall deem it as suckage. Yes, that's suck, mixed with sewage. I'd watch "Enterprise" before I watched Atlantis again, and I hated Enterprise more than I hated DS9. LOL.

Yeah, they've got more special FX, but they've got 2 likeable characters -- "messy haircut guy" and the lovechild of Scotty and Dr. Bones. The rest are all pretty darn bland, and I can't take any of them seriously in their little space age "Galaxy Quest" outfits.

The Wraith, while being almost cool, are kinda...well..."Oh, look. We travelled millions of light years across the galaxy...and...we found...umm...vampires?"

Spinoffs are never as good as the original. I know this. "Voyager" came close -- you had the constant threat of the Borg, 7 of 9, all the little interpersonal dramas, and blatant abuse of the holodeck. It was like TNG on crack, and I loved it. And when the story sucked, you could always just watch 7 of 9 or Torres.

Compare SG-1 to Atlantis, and you've got...a small team of uber-smart commando nerds kicking butt from one end of the galaxy to the other, and TEAL'C, who could kick all that butt just by himself. Heck, even Dr. Jackson's muskles are twice as big as Gen. O'Neal's. What's up with that?

With Atlantis, you have "messy hair cut guy" pulling stupid ideas out of thin air to fix things, Dr. Scotty Bones complaining all day about his fear of transporters, an entire crew of people whining that they can't get home, and Atlantis's answer to Teal'C??? The girl with the ratty hair that never bathes? I for one shall be watching something more entertaining and stimulating from now on during that time slot -- the Cartoon Network.

I give it one more season, and maybe a mini-series to tie up any loose ends. LOL.

Although I like Atlantis I will be suprised if they can keep the premise interesting. The "we awoke the wraith and now they are coming for you" story is already getting old. And then there will be the "ultimate attempt to get home" story. Then there will be the "the wraith almost got us" story. Other than that, what is there? Probably a little romance, but I don't see them carrying the story more than a couple of years. Maybe two more and then it gets really repetitive.